Shy or Busy Little Beavers
A little over a month ago I witnessed a member’s Julidochromis ornatus for the Breeders Award Program. He was moving in a couple of weeks and his main concern was his discus and wild angelfish, Pterophyllum altum. So when he offered me the pair of Julies and fry I gladly accepted.
As most club members know, except for angelfish, I am not a cichlid person. Who could resist these bright yellow fish with dark brown stripes? After removing some plants and adding rocks to form caves I had the 30 ready. The temperature is 76F and pH around 7.4. Although my water is a little on the hard side I knew it was not as hard as most cichlid would like but decided I’d worry about that later. After a slow acclimation the 3-inch male and 2½ inch female disappeared into the caves, rarely to be seen. I knew there was a good reason I’m not crazy over cichlids, yes there are fish in that tank. The fry were busy exploring their new home and had no ill effects from the move. The Julies had spawned again shortly before I went over and although the member caught all the first spawn, he could only get a couple from the second. These tiny fry also survived the move.
The pair of Julies settled in and started moving gravel from behind the rocks to the front, which I though was a good sign. I kept watching expecting to see a swarm of fry – like my angels. Guess I should have done a little research. All was going well until about a week ago. Suddenly both adults became very protective of their cave and would chase the fry away. Prior to this the fry were always out swimming around hunting for food. I have a sponge insert over the filter intake tube and they can be found picking at that as well as the hard algae that has accumulated on the back wall of the tank. A few nights ago I decided to sit down (actually lay down as this tank is on the bottom of a 55 stand) and see what was going on. Watching the cave, still expecting to see a swarm of fry, I saw movement on the face of one of the marbled rocks. What a perfect hiding place in plain sight. The tiny fry were impossible to see against the marbled rock until they moved; a few more were on the back algae wall. No schooling they seemed to go their own way but all stayed close the cave. The parents showed no interest in their tiny fry but continued to guard the cave.
While observing this tank I was in for a second surprise. Where did all these medium sized fry come from? I should have two adults, 15 or so fry from the original first spawn and a couple from his second plus my new spawn. However I also had about 15 fry that fell in size between the two spawns.
I can highly recommend these hardy fish. Not only did they spawn shortly after being moved to a new home but the fry also survived with little care. During the week this tank is fed once a day with crushed flake food. On the weekends they get a second feeding of frozen brine, frozen bloodworms or freeze-dried tubifex worms. Normally knowing I have fry I would be feeding them micro-worms and/or newly hatched brine shrimp. Guess these little guys did fairly well with out it. I also do a 25 to 30 percent water change every two weeks.
One final note, if the adults don’t see you move they will come out.
First publication: Reflector, Central New York Aquarium Society, February 2004
Source: Aquarticles (no longer available)
